Abstract:

“A library offers more than information. It offers a place to think and ponder, to develop long-term goals and visions by consulting with the greatest minds of the past, to seek perspective in a setting devoted to ideas and discovery. It offers a place to meet, to share and to be alone—but not lonely.” — Virginia M. McCurdy. Regardless of size or type, libraries have always been special places for me. Growing up, going to the local public library once a week with my mother (and how long those weeks seemed then!) was a treat. The library was a magical place where new worlds were
discovered each time I opened a book. That branch library and my school libraries saw me through my secondary education. Later in college, the university library became a place not only to learn and research, but a good place to meet new people and occasionally escape a hot summer day in my un-air conditioned dorm room.